


NielSung

by starlightstarshine



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Bromance, Canon Universe, Gen, short one shots, unoriginal title but i cant think of anything else
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2018-12-18 06:21:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 12,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11868453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightstarshine/pseuds/starlightstarshine
Summary: Short drabbles about the MMO duo in Wanna One.





	1. PD101

**Author's Note:**

> Trying to update a new chapter once a week.

Daniel is sweating in places that he didn’t even know he could sweat, crouching down to the floor, he tiredly looks at the mirror to see an extremely tired and disgruntled version of himself looking back at him.

Behind him, the other trainees in his company looks equally, if not sweatier and more exhausted than him. Taewoong is laying one the floor, his limbs spread across like a starfish while he mumbles something about ramen. Jaehan is slumped against the wall, his face in hands, if Daniel didn’t know any better he would think the other is crying. Jiwoo is silently sitting on the other side of the practice room, gulping down water like his life is depending on it. The only person standing, and actually moving is Jisung, practicing the same movement over and over again, his mouth in a thin determined line.

Daniel sighs, “Hyung maybe you should take a break, we have been practicing for the past four hours.”

Jisung wordlessly shakes his head.

Daniel stares at Jisung’s reflection in the mirror as he continues to practice that one move, a memory of Jisung’s cheery voice echoing in his mind,

_“Yah, we should all go to PD101!”_

They all had laughed, thinking that Jisung was joking, but Jisung had never been more serious in his life. Sure, they all knew about Mnet’s audition program, the revamp of the first season now with boys, but none of them thought to go on the show, because none of them seriously thought they could make it.  Except for Jisung.

_“Imagine if we debut through the program. You know how famous we will be?”_

Daniel shakes his head at the memory, Jisung’s enthusiasm was infectious, so they all agreed and even somehow managed to get through the preliminary auditions without a hitch. But now, as they struggle to practice the chorography for their audition, a cover of GoT7’s Hard Carry, Daniel couldn’t help but wonder if this whole thing was a huge mistake.

Jisung suddenly stops moving, staring at Daniel’s expression through the mirror he asks, “You don’t think we can do this?”

Daniel bites his lips, Jisung has always been really good at telling what exactly Daniel is thinking based on his expression. The other trainees look up at him, staring at him through the mirror, waiting for an answer.

Daniel doesn’t answer.

The mood in the room darkens.

“Kang Daniel?” Jisung asks again, his arms crossing, there’s this serious expression on his face that rarely appears.

Daniel gulps, and with the weak voice he mumbles, “No.”

Daniel could literally feel the atmosphere in the room tense. Having no actual dance trainer in their company, Daniel took on the role of teaching the others the choreography, him telling them that he believes that they couldn’t master the choreography is basically him telling them that they should give up.

But Jisung isn’t having any of it.

He walks up to Daniel and smacks him across the head, hard.

Daniel winces as the pain spreads through his scalp, in a whiny voice he says, “Ow hyung that hurts.”

The atmosphere becomes slightly lighter.

“I don’t know about you guys but I want to debut, for five years all I wished for is to debut, so if there is a chance there that would help me debut, I would take it, even if it means that I have to walk across hell for it.”

Daniel stares at Jisung, not in shock, but in wonder as the words slip out of his elder’s friend mouth. The words seem to some magic on them, Taewoong, Jaehan and Jiwoo immediately stand up, their own faces filled with determination.

The only one not up is Daniel.

Jisung stares at Daniel expectantly.

Daniel feels a sense of shame seep through him. All of them have always wished for the same thing, to debut, and there he was, telling them that they can’t do it.

“Are you not going to stand up and teach us?” Jisung gently prompts, as if he could tell that Daniel feels ashamed of his earlier words.

Daniel nods as he gets up, “Let’s start from the beginning.”

Jisung proudly smiles and pats the other’s back, “There’s my Kang Daniel.”

As the music starts Daniel stares at Jisung’s reflection in the mirror, at his determined eyes, his kind smile, his strong posture and he thinks,

_If out of all is, only one can make it, it should be him._

 


	2. B

“MMO quiet down!” A staff screams as the break for auditions almost comes to an end.

The MMO trainees look at each other, none of them had even said a word. The cheerfulness and talkativeness at the start of filming the first episode has gone, after they had performed their audition and received their grades, there is an awful dreariness hanging above them.

Daniel – B

Jaehan – C

Jiwoo – F

Taewoong – C

Jisung – F

Daniel stares at his B grade, he should be happy, B was no A, but it was close enough and it is higher than he even expected to get, however he feels an awful pang in his chest. 

He stares at the tags stuck on his friends’ abdomen, his eye lingers on Jisung’s grade.

_None of them deserve such a low grade._

_Jisung doesn’t deserve such a low grade._

Daniel sighs as he stares at the staffs at the front who were busy changing the tapes on the cameras and checking the mikes on others who were going to perform next.

Jisung must have heard the sigh because he eyes Jaehan, who is sitting next to Daniel; Jaehan nods and gets up, switching seats with Jisung.

The corners of Daniel’s lip lifts, “We shouldn’t be changing seats, the staff is going to scold us for the lack of continuity.”

Jisung smiles back fondly, “I’ll switch back before they start filming.”

He gently takes Daniel’s hands in his and squeezes it, “What’s wrong?”

Daniel shakes his head, his eyes lingering back at Jisung’s tag, and Jisung catches his glance.

“B grade is really good Niel ah,” Jisung comforts the other.

Daniel bites his lips, “I’m not concerned about _my_ grade.”

Jisung smiles, his smile a bit too cheerful and happy, “Don’t worry about me, or any of us, we will rise up.”

But there is a falter in his tone, his steady glance became wavering and Daniel could feel Jisung’s hand slightly shake against his.

This time it is Daniel who squeezes the other’s hand, “You deserve way higher, you guys all do.”

Jisung smiles, his mouth forcefully curving upward, “They do.”

Before Daniel could say another word, the staff screams at MMO to quiet down again and Jisung goes back to his old seat.

Daniel stares down at his grade tag wanting to rip it off.


	3. Center

It feels like hell on Earth. As Daniel goes through what he thinks is the millionth practice of Nayana, he thinks that this is it, this is what hell is.

Singing and dancing to Nayana on repeat.

Just before he starts throwing up on the floor, the dance teacher stops the music and screams for a break, all the trainees shuffle to their water bottles, their legs weak and their throats dry. Sipping on water he glances around at all the other trainees in the B grade who were all staring at each other warily.

_This is my competition._

Daniel feels goosebumps arise in his body and he shivers. The entire atmosphere is hostile and he’s surprised people hadn’t broken off into fist fights yet. It's probably due to fact they had cameras around them, watching their every move.

It made the atmosphere more frightening.

_Who knew filming a reality show would be so terrifying?_

From the corner of his eye he sees the cute kid from the audition, Woojin, sipping on his bottle nervously, eyeing the other trainees who were all taller and older than him.

Daniel feels his heart throb, if the atmosphere is terrifying for him, it must be gruesome to the little kid.

He walks over to the kid and taps his shoulder, “You are really good at singing.”

Woojin puts down his water bottle and smiles, “Thanks, you are really good at dancing.”

There is a tremor to the kid’s voice that breaks Daniel’s heart. Without thinking, he grabs the kid’s hands and squeezes it, “Don’t worry we won’t eat you up.”

Woojin laughs and squeezes Daniel’s hand back, “Thank god.”

Daniel feels a pang in his chest when he realizes how familiar the gesture is, his mind reels over to memories of Jisung, how he squeezes Daniel’s hands, or wraps his arms around him in comfort.

Daniel sighs, and Woojin looks at him with worry, “You okay?”

“Just missing people,” Daniel answers

The boy sighs too, “Yeah I miss my mom too.”

Daniel winces as he realizes he didn’t actually think of his mother. Of course, he misses his mother, he always misses her since she’s all the way in Busan, but with Jisung it’s a different kind of missing. Jisung is his substitute mom and he aches from having his second mother ripped apart from him without any prior notice. At least with his mother he knew what he was doing, he knew that he was leaving her to go to a city miles away for training.

However, he didn’t think he was going to part from Jisung while filming the show. He didn’t know why, but he thought they would all get into the same grade, so they would practice together, room together and do everything in the show together.

But instead he’s stuck by himself with little contact with his friends in other grades. Having being separated by grades, the only time they have come in contact, the only time they could, is when they walked by each other in the hallways.

Daniel hates Mnet.

“Guys time for lunch,” the dance teacher says and before he could even utter another word the trainees had left the practice room.

Starving he practically jogs to the cafeteria, but stops when he sees a flash of a familiar face. He turns to the side to see Jisung laughing and talking to another trainee, arms around each other’s shoulder.

_Nice to know he doesn’t miss me._

Daniel flinches at his own thought, he knows he isn’t being fair, it’s not Jisung’s fault that people just naturally gravitate towards him. There is something about Jisung that lets people break down their walls around him, maybe it’s the way he smiles or the way he nags others like a mother, but something about Jisung makes everyone else just love him.

Daniel stiffly walks towards Jisung who is now slapping the other trainee’s arm in laughter.

“Nice to know that you don’t miss me,” Daniel says, his tone intended to be joking, but there must have been a slight bitterness to it, so slight that only Jisung would detect it, because Jisung immediately frowns.

Jisung practically leaps towards the other and wraps his arms around him, “What are you talking about? I missed you so much. What will I do without my child?”

He pinches Daniel’s cheek so hard that it turns red.

Daniel pretends to pout, “Stop it mom you are embarrassing me.”

Jisung laughs, a laugh so loud and obnoxious that Daniel’s chest aches thinking about how much he misses it.

Jisung gently flattens down Daniel’s hair that was standing up, “How’s practice?”

Daniel pouts, for real this time, “I hate it. It’s like hell. I feel like hell. It is hell.”

Jisung chuckles, “It’s not that bad, everyone at F is nice.”

Daniel’s pout deepens, “Everyone at B is at each other’s throats. It’s like Battle Royale in there.”

Jisung sighs as he wipes a bead of sweat off Daniel’s head with the sleeve of his sweatshirt, “I guess it makes sense, you guys all want to go to A, right? Since it’s so close?”

Daniel wordlessly nods.

Jisung squeezes the other’s arms, “Make sure you go to A so you can be center.”

Daniel sighs, resigned, “Even if I do make it to A there is no guarantee I would be center. There’s still Samuel and Daehwi there, for sure one of them would be center.”

Jisung has this smile on his face, a smile that makes Daniel feel giddy inside, a smile that makes Daniel feel like he could fly if Jisung told him he could.

He gently takes Daniel’s hands in his hands and whispers, “I think you can beat Daehwi and Samuel and be center. I think you can be number 1.”

Daniel’s heart beats fast in his chest at the mere thought but before he could utter a reply a staff calls Jisung over for practice.

Jisung squeezes Daniel’s hands one last time and walks away.

_Maybe I can be number 1._

_If Jisung believes I can then maybe I will be number 1._


	4. 3

Daniel never felt more uncomfortable and nervous his entire life. He sits in the comfortable seat of number 5 but his fingers wouldn’t stop itching. He stares intensely at the audience to find Jisung staring back at him, equally as nervous.

They still didn’t call his name yet.

_He has to have made it._

The response to Jisung, his funny antics, and talkative mouth had been explosive, more of a response than any of them had expected, more than Jisung had expected. To top it all off, he was the center of his performance.

_He’s going to make it for sure._

He stares at Jisung, trying to convey that message through his eyes.

_You are going to make it._

As if on a que, the screens around them light up, showing the top 4 and seeing Jisung’s face flash on the screen literally makes Daniel topple over in his seat.

“Oh my god, oh my-”

The boy next to him, Hyungseob, looks at him in alarm, “Careful. Careful. Careful.”

Straightening himself and the chair, Daniel laughs.

_Jisung made it._

_Not only did he make it, he’s in the top 4._

Daniel feels his heart swell in happiness, he wasn’t even this excited when he was called for fifth. Actually, Jisung was more ecstatic, pulling him into a tight hug while whispering, “What do we do? What do we do?”

Daniel hears Ong Seongwoo being called up at as 4th and his heart beats faster, he meets Jisung’s wavering gaze and gives him a full-blown smile.

Jisung still has his hand covering his mouth in shock.

Seongwoo’s speech flies by and Daniel looks at him fondly, having grown close while being in A, it was no surprise that such a hardworking, good looking and talented guy made it to the top ranks.

Seongwoo says something about being Samuel’s rival and Daniel remembers that another reason why he’s so popular is cause he’s straight forward, savage and hilarious at times.

He taps his fingers against the arm rest of the chair, excitingly waiting for Jisung’s name to be called and he didn’t have to wait for so long.

He hears Jisung being called for 3rd place and Daniel’s heart explodes in excitement. He sees Jisung bent over, crying on Taewoong’s knee, the flood gates of his tears opening.

Jisung gets up, sobbing, mumbling to himself as Taewoong and Jaehan hug him and laugh, telling the other not to cry.

Jisung, however, continues to cry all the way up to the stage. He is full on whimpering and everything. Daniel doesn’t have enough self control in him to stop himself from laughing.

He waddles unto the stage continuing to sob in such a way that even BoA is baffled.

As BoA tries to get him to give a speech, Jisung covers his eyes, and cries some more, and in that moment Daniel recalls everything.

He remembers how Jisung struggled, how he trained for so long and had so many chances to debut yet missed them all and how he lived in that cramped up study room with no heater and fruit bugs flying everywhere.

He remembers how Jisung fought to chase his dream, and thinks about how much his friend deserves this position.

His eyes water as he gazes at Jisung who is struggling to give his speech through tears.

Jisung’s every word is genuine as he takes long breaths in between each one, showing everyone there how much this position means to him, how much being here filming this show means to him and how much chasing his dreams relentlessly means to him.

His speech leaves everyone touched, everyone in the room claps and cheers for Jisung, the cheers being one of the loudest. A few, especially his fellow MMO trainees, have tears in their eyes, and Daniel himself is fighting back his own tears. As Jisung climbs up the stairs to go to his seat, Daniel gets up to give the other a hug.

Jisung reaches out towards him his eyes still brimming with tears threatening to spill. Daniel gives him his widest smile and wraps his arms around the other in a tight hug. Jisung buries his head unto Daniel’s neck and Daniel could feel the wetness of Jisung’s tears.

He doesn’t feel like letting go.

From the corner of his eyes he sees a staff motioning them to hurry up so Daniel reluctantly lets Jisung go.

Jisung sniffles and slumps unto his seat trying not to cry.

Daniel goes back to his seat and looks back to the front. For the rest of filming he grins from ear to ear, as if he, himself, is placed in the top 3.


	5. My Pick

The staff hustles him into the room and points to the pictures of all the trainees hanging on the wall, “Pick the picture of the trainee that would be your top pick and then come up to the camera to explain why you picked him.”

Daniel nods, his attention already shifting to the pictures.

He walks towards the wall and scans all the faces on them, he sees a lot of potential picks because in all honesty, any one of the trainees could be his top pick.

_Would it be too obvious if I picked someone who was already in the high rank?_

_Or should I pick someone who isn’t as well received?_

_What would the PD-nim want?_

The cameraman clears his throat, indicating that Daniel is taking quite long choosing a picture.

Daniel scans the pictures again, panic arising, his hands clamp up.

_Who would they want me to pick?_

The cameraman clears his throat again.

_Gosh Niel ah, who do **you** want to pick?_

That voice inside his head sounds awfully like Jisung’s.

Daniel’s eyes catch the only person that could ever be _his_ number one pick, and he lifts the picture off the wall.

He shuffles to the front of the camera and smiles.

“Who’s your pick?” the staff prompts.

“MMO’s Yoon Jisung.”

When Daniel doesn’t say anything after that the staff prompts him again, “Why did you pick him?”

For a while Daniel loses the ability to speak, his brain practically freezes, there isn’t a _reason_ , it’s Yoon Jisung, of course Daniel would pick him.

The staff smiles knowingly, “Okay, how about this, what is Yoon Jisung to you?”

Daniel smiles, his expression changes into something soft, and his voice turns quieter than usual, “He’s like my second mother. I call him mom.”

The staff motions him to continue.

“Even when things get tough for him, he always takes care of me first. Though he nags and nags and nags, he only does it because he cares for me. When things get tough, Jisung is always there with a helping hand and going a day without him feels like I am missing an arm. Sometimes I think what would have happened if I hadn’t met him and I am sure that I wouldn’t be here, where I am now, without him. To me he is an irreplaceable hyung. So, if there is anyone who deserves to sit in the number one seat, it is him, because there is no one more hardworking, sincere and caring than Jisung hyung.”

Daniel takes in a deep breath as he finishes, waiting for the staff to say something. The staff, for a while, stare at him silently, and Daniel blinks back confused.

“Did I say something wrong?”

The staff shakes her head and smiles, “No, you did good. You are done Daniel.”

As Daniel prepares to leave the staff calls him, “Daniel I think you would like to know that Jisung, as of now, is the number one pick among the trainees.”

Daniel looks back at the staff and smiles, “Of course he is.”

“We might call you back for some reactions for you being the second pick,” the staff says to Daniel’s retreating back.

Daniel practically jogs away, in order to find Jisung, so he doesn’t quite hear the statement, but he doesn’t really need to. It doesn’t matter to him what place he is in. 

Daniel could spot Jisung’s laughter anywhere, hearing the loud laugh among the sounds of the other trainees in the cafeteria, he leaps towards the table Jisung is sitting in.

Sitting with the Showtime team, Jisung is giggling cheerily at something Samuel had said. As Daniel comes towards them, they all wave cheerily,

“Niel ah you are done with the filming?” Jisung asks as he nears them.

Daniel nods and seats himself beside Jisung, “Yeah, who did you guys pick?”

“We can’t tell you ~” Taehyun responds cheerfully, and the rests of the table choruses along in agreement.

Daniel grins at the cheerfulness amongst the table, they really fit Jisung well.

As the rest of the table go back to their conversations Daniel nudges Jisung in the shoulder, “Seriously who did you pick?”

Jisung wags his finger at Daniel. “I can’t tell you~”

Daniel grabs the finger being wagged at him and grins wider, “Tell me, did you pick me?”

Jisung’s face immediately darkens as he gently pulls his finger back, “Uhhhhhh.”

Daniel heart plummets, he immediately stands up as if his seat was on fire, “I think my group would be looking for me.”

Jisung grabs Daniel wrist, “Niel ah…”

“No seriously they said they wanted to tell me something,” Daniel mumbles trying to free his wrist.

“Okay you can go to them after you sit down here for a minute.”

Daniel, hesitantly obeys, and sits down frowning.

Jisung starts to pull his cheeks again, “Don’t pull that face, you don’t look nice. Besides it’s not like you picked me.”

Daniel’s frown deepens, “I did.”

Jisung looks genuinely shocked, “You did? Why?”

Daniel rolls his eyes, despite himself there is harshness in his voice, “What do you mean, why? Of course, I would pick _you_. There’s nobody else.”

Jisung stares at the table, “I mean… I thought maybe… Seongwoo…”

Daniel shrugs, “It would still be you. I think I have to go, my team would be looking for me.”

Jisung shakes his head, “Wait.”

Daniel waits and Jisung stares at the table, trying to find something to say.

Daniel sighs, “It’s okay Jisung hyung. It’s not like I was seriously expecting you to pick me.”

Daniel’s voice falters, much to his despair, and Jisung notices.

But it isn’t Daniel’s fault. Of course, the son would expect his mother to pick him.

Daniel starts to get up to leave because their conversation is going no where.

Suddenly Jisung says, “Niel ah, Nae Maeum Seoge Jeojang (saving you in my heart).”

Daniel freezes in his tracks and stares at Jisung as he does Jihoon’s iconic catchphrase and gesture, the whole thing looking quite un-cute in all honesty.

The rest of Showtime’s team bursts into fists of laughter and Daniel couldn’t help breaking into a few of his own.

_Gosh they were never going to let him live this down._

Daniel gently squeezes Jisung’s shoulders in sympathy.

Jisung smiles softly, “You know I love you the most, right Niel ah?”

Daniel nods, knowing that even though Jisung had became the mother to a lot of trainees in the show, Daniel is still Jisung’s first child.

That counts for something.


	6. Possessive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on a request by Conniek; idk if this is what you wanted but hopefully you will like it <3 So for this chapter it is going to back track a bit to when they were split into dance, vocal and rap for the performance. The next chapter will probably jump back forward. :)

Daniel has never thought of himself to be possessive. Sure, he gets jealous when his girlfriends got too close with other guys, but he never got too possessive. He prides himself as a man who gives his significant other space.

Daniel doesn’t do possessive.

Well, Daniel is wrong.

“Jisung hyung, we should eat together!” Hyunbin screams from across the room.

Daniel winces, he looks at Jisung, who is sitting right next to him, a spoonful of rice to his mouth, and sees his elder friend smile.

“Sure.”

Daniel eyes widens, “Hyung…”

_We only see each other at lunch._

Jisung pats Daniel's shoulder, “He actually needs to some vocal help but he’s embarrassed about it, that is why he is asking to eat with me. I will try to come back quick.”

Daniel pouts at his food but doesn’t say a word when Jisung walks away.

_I am not possessive._

Jisung doesn’t end up coming back and Daniel ends up not finishing his lunch, dumping nearly all of it in the trash.

Seongwoo eyes Daniel worryingly, “This is why you are losing weight.”

Daniel shrugs, “People say I look better.”

“We need you for the dance performance so don’t collapse alright?” 

Daniel nods.

“I saw Jisung with Hyunbin at lunch, I thought he was sitting with you.”

Daniel grits his teeth, “Yeah Hyunbin needed some vocal help.”

Seongwoo smiles, “That’s good. It is nice seeing Hyunbin work so hard.”

Daniel squints his eyes in thought.

“You are happy for him, aren’t you?”

Daniel shrugs again, wanting to get out of the conversation.

Seongwoo analyzes Daniel’s face and smirks, “You are jealous he is taking Jisung away, aren’t you?”

Daniel’s cheeks turn rosy, “I barely see him, okay?”

Seongwoo raises his hand in surrender, “Okay, okay.”

“Let’s just go to practice.”

“One more thing Daniel, if you want to see him to badly, make some more effort. I don’t think Jisung realizes you miss him.”

Daniel nods.

_He probably doesn’t._

* * *

Daniel is exhausted, so exhausted that he could barely stand. Desperately wanting, and needing the comfort of his bed, he tries to crawl his way to his room. The dance practice had taken nearly all of his energy. 

Right then Seongwoo’s words echo through his mind.

_“One more thing Daniel, if you want to see him to badly, make some more effort. I don’t think Jisung realizes you miss him.”_

Daniel sighs, glancing warily at the clock which read 3 am, he slowly manages to walk to the vocal practice room and look through the window.

Sure, enough Jisung is there, making notes seriously on a sheet of paper.

Daniel carefully walks away, and goes to the nearest vending machine. Buying the only drink left in the vending machine, a cool drink of apple juice, he walks back to the practice room.

He softly knocks on the door.

Jisung opens the door, looking extremely disgruntled. But seeing Daniel’s face brightens his face up, his frown immediately turning into a smile.

“Niel ah!”

Daniel smiles back, “Can I come in?”

Jisung nods enthusiastically and moves to the corner of the small practice room, giving Daniel room to sit down next to him.

As Daniel takes a seat next to him, he gently presses the cool drink on Jisung’s cheek, “For you.”

Jisung smile grows wider, taking the drink in his hands, he stares fondly at it, “Thanks.”

“It’s nothing. Is everything okay?”

Jisung sighs, he stares up at the ceiling of the practice room, “Just need more practice that’s all.”

“You need to stop focusing on other’s first and focus more of your time practicing for yourself.”

“I can’t Niel ah, I am the leader, remember?”

Daniel sighs, “Drink, your voice sounds hoarse.”

Jisung attention focuses back on the drink, trying to open the very tight sealed cap, he fails.

Daniel sighs again at seeing Jisung struggle, “Hyung, give me that, I’ll do it.”

With one swift motion Daniel opens the drink and passes it over to Jisung.

Jisung grins at the opened drink, “You are really pampering me today.”

Daniel frowns, hugging his legs closer to his body he mumbles, “I just bought a drink and opened it for you. You expect so little from me.”

Jisung gently ruffles the other’s hair, “That’s not it Daniel. I just mean, it is 3am and you are here for me. Thanks.”

“You would do the same. You _do_ the same.”

Jisung gently lays his head on Daniel’s shoulder, “You are the best Niel.”

Daniel smiles at that compliment as he leans his head against Jisung’s.

“You too.”

Jisung gently entwines his fingers with Daniel’s, “I can’t wait till this program is over so we can go out some more. It’s been a long time since we ate some chicken and drank some beer together.”

_I miss you._

Daniel rubs his thumb softly against Jisung’s, “Let’s do that soon.”

_I miss you too._

Tiredness finally embraces the two of them, and they fall into a gentle slumber, head against each other’s and both their hearts, finally, at rest. 


	7. Top 20 (1)

Daniel is staring at the mirror debating whether or not to put lip tint on when Jisung walks up to him.

“Don’t.” Jisung mumbles seeing the lip tint and Daniel gladly complies, tucking the lip tint in his pocket.

“You know, you are the one who told me to buy it.”

“I didn’t think you were unknowledgeable about how to apply it.”

Daniel rolls his eyes but he couldn’t help smiling.

“How’s your hand?”

Daniel shrugs, “It’s hurting less I guess.”

“You have to be careful next time,” Jisung gently scolds and Daniel smiles at the warmness in his friend’s voice.

For a while they stare at their refection in the mirror.

“You lost so much weight.”

Daniel traces his jawline, “Yeah people say I look so much better now.”

Jisung frowns, “You lost so much of your cheeks, I can’t pinch anything now.”

Daniel giggles, “You sound like a grandma.”

Jisung sighs.

“What’s wrong?”

Jisung turns to face Daniel and starts to straighten his tie, which, for the record, is already quite straight.

“You have to learn how to take care of yourself even if I am not there.”

Daniel frowns, “What do you mean, ‘even if I am not there’?”

Jisung shrugs as he moves on to adjusting the pin on Daniel’s suit, “I might not make it to the top 20.”

Daniel’s frown deepens, “What do you mean, hyung? You will make it.”

Jisung sighs again but before he can utter another word, the staff calls them to the set. In a hurry, Daniel takes Jisung’s hand in his and squeezes it,

“Trust me, you will make it.”

BoA starts by calling the 19th rank and Jisung, beside Daniel, starts grumbling,

“If I am not called here, I don’t think it’s possible anymore.”

Daniel frowns, disagreeing.

Sewoon gets called up and Jisung slouches in his seat.

The ranks are outrageous, so many high ranked trainees had dropped and as each rank gets called by Daniel and Jisung feel more and more restless.

When Dongho gets called up on stage, BoA comments that Kang Daniel is his rival for sexiness and proceeds to ask “Who do you think has more charms?”

Dongho, without quite thinking responds, “I really like Kang Daniel.”

Daniel raises his eyebrows at the suggestiveness behind his words, deeply amused. Jisung on the other hand is not.

Jisung with his squinted eyes and mouth in a straight hard line, mumbles, “What is he saying?”

Daniel tries not to laugh at the look of displeasure on Jisung’s face.

_Such an overprotective mother._

Everyone starts to sing that do doo doo dooo song that plays over romantic scenes and Jisung’s face starts to look even more annoyed. At this point, Daniel has to pinch himself, hard, to stop from bursting into fits of giggles.

Dongho, despite himself, turns slightly red, “I didn’t mean it like that; it’s just that Daniel is very cool on stage and usually does very well.”

Daniel smiles, glad for that moment of distraction where both Jisung and him forgot about ranking.

BoA calls for the ninth rank and people all around them start mumbling about who it would be, many mumble Samuel and Jisung’s name causing Jisung’s stomach to lurch.

Jisung, in nervousness, rests his head on Daniel’s shoulder. Daniel gently wraps his arm around Jisung’s shoulder, tapping the other’s shoulder while feeling quite nervous himself.

Euiwoong leans close to Jisung and whispers, “It is possible that it’s you hyung.”

Jisung, his head still slightly on Daniel’s shoulder, smiles nervously, “It is not possible for me to go so high.”

Jisung hears the number of votes given to the person and frowns.

_There is no way I could have gotten so many votes._

“MMO Yoon Jisung.”

Jisung nearly gets a heart attack. He gasps in shock and covers his mouth with his two hands as he practically leaps in his seat. Daniel immediately grins and looks at Jisung’s shocked face with a look of ‘I told you so’.

Jisung bends down in his seat, and starts crying.

Daniel gets up and starts rubbing his back in comfort. Everyone around them starts cheering and screaming Jisung’s name, all of them excited that Jisung’s name is called. Samuel’s ‘oh my gods’ being the loudest and most prominent among those cheers.

Meanwhile Jisung continues to cry.

Daniel, for a second, is overwhelmed by the immense support Jisung has within the Produce 101 walls, everyone practically loves him, not that he blames them, it’s hard not to love Jisung.

Everyone crowds around him and Jisung lifts his head up, revealing a very teary face.

“Again! Again! Look at you crying all over again,” Daniel teases, “Stop crying, ah really.”

That only makes Jisung cry harder. That’s when Daniel realizes that Jisung’s isn’t only crying because he made it, he is crying because so many people are surrounding him with so much love, all of them glad that Jisung, out of all them, is able to make it to top 20.

It is the type of overwhelming love that Jisung shockingly realizes that he is getting while being on a show where beating each other in ranking is the core motive. 

Jisung weakly gets up as people hug him. He turns around to face Daniel who has a bright smile on his face. Daniel’s eyes show so much kindness that it almost causes Jisung to break down into sobs again.

“I said so right, I told you so.” Daniel whispers as he pulls Jisung into a tight embrace.

With those words Jisung couldn’t hold back the tears so he lets a few go as Daniel holds him.

In the corner Samuel is bent down, recovering from a near heart attack. The sight would have caused huge laughter, but everyone is too busy telling Jisung not to cry to notice the other contender for the rank recovering from the suspense that almost killed him.

Jisung walks unto the stage and people cheer so loudly that it seems like Jisung actually made it to the final line up. 

Daniel starts giggling so hard at the sight of an extremely shocked Jisung that he thought he would never stop.

Jisung stands in the center of the stage, his eyes closed as if he is resisting tears, and Daniel puts his fists up in encouragement even though Jisung doesn’t see it.

Opening his eyes Jisung slowly starts his speech, “I really didn’t have much expectations, all trainees before me were all higher ranked than me.”

Hearing this Daniel smiles, “Woah I feel good.”

His Jisung were among these higher ranked trainees now.

“I really didn’t expect anything, sincerely thank you for letting me dream the dream of debut. I will do well in all things I can do and I will work hard in things I cannot do. Thank you.”

People continue to cheer loudly and Daniel smiles, impressed, Jisung’s speech always had an impact whether he knew it or not.

_He sure is something._


	8. Top 20 (2)

They call for the 8th rank and BoA asks who was eighth in the previous elimination round, Daniel nervously raises up his hand.

“As expected the result for this ranking is unexpected.”

Daniel frowns, he catches Jisung’s glance and sees the other’s encouraging smile. It manages to lift up his mood for a bit.

Ong Seongwoo gets called and Daniel feels his heart plummet. Firstly, because that meant that Seongwoo dropped in ranking and secondly because that meant that his own rank changed. Either it moved lower or higher and Daniel is sincerely hoping for the latter.

Despite the nervousness creeping up into him he smiles at all of Seongwoo’s jokes and even cringes jokingly at some of them.

Jisung looks at Daniel with worry.

Jonghyun gets called for 7th place and Daniel watches Jonghyun go up in dread, if Jonghyun dropped form 1st to 7th, what would happen to his rank?

Daniel could feel Jisung looking at him, but he doesn’t dare look back, if he sees Jisung looking at him with that encouraging smile of his Daniel is sure he would break down right there and then.

Before he knows it the top 4 flashes on the screen and he feels his heart beat faster seeing his face on the screen.

_Calm down, calm down, calm down._

From the seats Jisung gives him a proud smile and Daniel weakly smiles back. He barely hears people freaking out about Guanlin, his own heart beating hard in his chest.

The next few minutes go by in a blur and soon they call up Jihoon and him for the contenders of first place.

_Me?_

_Contender of first place?_

He looks up at Jisung and sees the other with his thumb up. Daniel smiles nervously and goes to stand up on the stage.

Clenching his teeth Daniel tries to calm his heart that is beating so loud that he could barely hear the cheers.

Boa asks him about being contender for first place, and Daniel barely finding his voice answers, “It was a bit awkward for me coming up on stage but I want to fight for first place at least once.”

Jisung stares down at Daniel, pride blooming inside him.

As Boa calls starts announcing for first place, Jisung clenches his hands in nervousness.

_Please be Daniel._

_Please be him._

People around them start mumbling about who would be first.

Jisung leans into Seongwoo who is sitting beside him, “Will Daniel be first? Since he has the benefit.”

He hates the nervousness that seeps into the voice, but he couldn’t help it, it’s his child out there after all; Daniel is standing there on stage so close to the position he dearly wants and Jisung wants him to get it.

_He has to be first._

_He should be first._

_He will be first._

Smiling a bit with that thought Jisung mumbles, “Then we should ask him to treat us out for chicken.”

“Chicken?” Seongwoo, asks, not sure if he heard the statement right.

“If Daniel gets first...” Jisung says again, this time the nervousness in his voice replaced with confidence. The ‘if’ in his statement is barely withstanding, it was like he was saying ‘when Daniel gets first’.

Seongwoo looks at him in a ridiculous manner, as if it to say, ‘in this tense situation how can you be talking about chicken?’

Jisung shrugs at the expression, smiling a bit wider.

He didn’t need to be tense.

Because he knows that it is Daniel that would be first.

_His Kang Daniel is going to get first place._

And of course, it is his Kang Daniel that gets first place.

That announcement gives Jisung the chills, he stands up and claps, his mouth wide open because though he had confidence that Daniel would be first place, it is different hearing it coming out of BoA’s mouth.

On screen Jisung sees Daniel’s face with the blue border of first place and it takes every bit of his self control to not cry out of happiness.

_His Niel ah is first place._

_Of course, his Niel would get first place._

Daniel’s speech makes Jisung’s smile grow wider and as he finishes Daniel turns around and bows towards the top 20. Daniel’s eyes catch Jisung’s proud smile, and he smirks cheekily.

_I made it hyung._

Jisung smirks back.

_Of course, you did._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been trying to update this fic at least once every week but due to some personal stuff that has come up I won't be able to update for about a month or so. I might come back earlier but it really depends. I'm really sorry about this. I really wanted to keep updates constant so I am pretty depressed about the whole situation. Please wait for the next chapter, I will be back asap, thank you for supporting this fic <3


	9. Jealous?

The first time Jisung heard someone ask the question was during the time when all the A trainees were auditioning to be center.

Taewoong and Jisung were sitting next to each other, watching as Daniel was preparing for his audition for center, when a trainee leaned in and asked them,

“That guy over there with the pink hair is from your company, right? Don’t you feel jealous? He is doing so well.”

Taewoong had frowned at that statement, giving the trainee a raised eyebrow, and nothing more. Jisung, on the other hand, took the statement to heart.

“Why would we be jealous? We are his friends after all. We are happy that he is doing well!”

The trainee shrugged and leaned back, and the conversation was forgotten as everyone’s attention shifted towards the stage.

The second time someone asked him that question was when Daniel’s fancam for ‘Sorry Sorry’ had exploded and Daniel had become the talk of the nation, everyone fell in love with the pink haired dude, not that it was much of a surprise.

Another trainee, sitting beside him, also watching the responses, had whispered to him, “He’s getting so much attention, maybe I should have dyed my hair pink. I’m so jealous, aren’t you?”

Jisung, baffled due the repetition of the question, could only huff in annoyance and roll his eyes at it.

After that no trainee asked him that question, not due to the fact he became 3rd around that time but mostly because they realized how close Daniel and Jisung were. As they became accustomed to Jisung’s personality and the dynamics of Daniel and his relationship they realized how ridiculous the question was.

But apparently the staff of the show were either blind to that knowledge or chose to ignore it because the third time Jisung is asked that question, it is asked by the staff and in front of the camera.

Tired and emotionally worn out after the reveal of the top 20 ranking, Jisung was ready to climb into bed when the producers had called him for an interview.

Practically dragging himself to the side room to do the interview, Jisung tries his hardest to not fall asleep on the interview chair as the staff gets their questions ready.

“Sorry for calling you this late,” the cameraman apologizes.

Jisung, rubbing his eyes, softly smiles, “It’s okay, I love to get as much screen time as I can.”

The staff holding the question laughs, “Good. So, here’s the first question, how do you feel about Kang Daniel being first place?”

Jisung smiles fondly, the tiredness gone out of his system as soon as he hears the words Daniel and first place in the same sentence.

“I’m proud of him of course. Since we are from the same company I have known him for such a long-time and I have seen how hard he works. If there is anyone who deserves first place it is him, and I am happy that he got first place. I probably wouldn’t even be this happy if _I_ got first place.”

He ends his answer with a soft giggle, completely reenergized.

The staff nods and leans in to whisper something to the cameraman, and the cameraman nods back.

Jisung watches the exchange in confusion.

The staff clears their throat and starts the next question, “You have mentioned that Daniel is from the same company as you and you have been in that company for a long time, right? Have you ever been jealous of his popularity, especially now since he is in first place?”

Jisung stares at the staff completely and utterly baffled by the question but the staff only stares back blankly. Jisung opens his mouth to say something, to say a lot of things, but he quickly closes it, remembering that Mnet can take anything out of context and turn it against him.

Sighing, Jisung rubs his eyes again, “Sorry, but I am really tired. Can I go to bed?’

The staff looks at him, slightly flabbergasted, but allows him to leave, and Jisung slowly does, his legs feeling heavy. The question is ringing in his ears.

_Why does everyone ask that question?_

_Do I seem like a person who gets jealous often?_

_Am I jealous of Daniel?_

Jisung shakes that last thought out of his head. Jisung does get jealous sometimes, like when his friends all make plans without him or when he sees someone close to him get closer to someone else. But he has never been jealous of someone else’s success. He didn’t consider himself as someone who would, but everyone else seemed to think otherwise. The thought is bothering him so much that he doesn’t even notice Daniel walking up to him.

“Hyung!” Daniel calls out to him, dragging Jisung out from his thoughts.

Jisung weakly waves at the younger, smiling softly, “Why are you still up?”

Daniel shrugs, smiling widely, “Too excited so I couldn’t sleep. You?”

Jisung yawns, “Interview.”

Daniel sighs contently, “I have always been jealous of how many times you get called for interviews, your reactions and comments are always the best.”

Jisung body perks up at the words, surprised he asks, “You? Jealous of me?”

He even does the hand gestures to go along with it making Daniel laugh.

“Of course, hyung, I wish I was at least half as funny as you.”

Jisung raises his eyebrows, “Daniel you’re first in this show.”

Daniel shrugs, “So?”

Jisung sighs, “If I say that I am jealous that you are in first place does that make me a bad person?’

Daniel rolls his eyes, “I just said I am jealous of your screen time, does that make me a bad person?”

Jisung pouts in thought and shakes his head.

“Hyung, for someone so old you are pretty dumb. I look up to you, when I say I am jealous it doesn’t mean I want to drag you down so I can be higher than you, it is more like I want to be in the same level as you.  It means that I want to be more like you, happy?”

Jisung smiles softly, “I look up to you too, Mr. First Place. But I still hate the word jealous though…”

Daniel rolls his eyes again, “Whatever hyung, we can have this debate about vocabulary later when we are both fully awake, let’s go to sleep okay.”

Walking to their rooms Daniel comments smugly, “You just said you looked up to me, right? I am going to remember and use that forever.”

Jisung gently bumps his shoulder against Daniel’s, “Whatever, you still have to buy me chicken.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i'm back :) Thanks for all your supportive comments, I read them all while i was on a hiatus and it made the past month a whole lot better. I'm slowly trying to write some new chapters but i cant guarantee this fic being updated regularly though i will try my best. Thank you for reading :)


	10. 101TV Woojin & Jisung Self Cam – Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is based on the video where Jisung and Woojin were going around interviewing everyone and when it was Jisung's time to be interviewed Daniel interviewed him. While watching the video I noticed that it was edited a lot (like a lot of scenes seemed to be cut out). So this is my interpretation of what went down during those cut scenes. This will be split into three small parts; one for each question asked in the interview. Enjoy :)

“Hyung,” Woojin says pointing the camera towards Jisung, “It’s your turn for the interviews.” 

Jisung pouts, having asked the question during the interviews while Woojin filmed, he contemplated who he should ask to ask _him_ questions.

“Should I ask you questions?” a familiar voice asks, and Jisung softly smiles.

“Daniel hyung, just in time, why don’t you ask questions to Jisung hyung?” Woojin asks excitingly.

Daniel nods while standing next to Jisung, his hand making a pretend mike, “Are you ready Mr. Yoon Jisung.”

Jisung smiles and reaches forward to pinch the other’s cheek, “Oh look at this kid.”

Daniel smirks, expertly dodging the cheek attack, “Today I am your interviewer, call me Mr. Kang Daniel.”

Jisung rolls his eyes but complies, “Alright Mr. Kang Daniel what questions do you have me for today?”

Daniel pouts in thought for a while, for a long while and Woojin taps his feel in impatience. 

“Ask anything!” Woojin exclaims, his patience running thin.

Jisung grins at the younger’s impatience and Daniel’s flustered expression.

“What does your younger sister mean to you?” Daniel blurts out, having no idea what else to ask the other. He knows Jisung like the back of his hand so its hard to think of something to question the other about. 

Jisung raises his eyebrows, “Out of all the questions?”

“Just answer it hyung!”

Woojin’s patience is running thin again.

“Oh… my younger sister…is someone who likes Daniel.”

“Really?” Daniel asks slightly surprised by the answer.

Jisung nods and Daniel forms his mouth into an o shape and shows it to the camera.

Then Jisung suddenly says, “My sister likes Kang Dongho.”

Daniel raises his eyebrows, his mouth still in an o shape. Woojin chuckles at the sudden statement.

“She is someone important for me to come to this point,” Jisung neatly finishes.

Daniel grins, “To be honest your younger sister does like me a lot, even since before the show, right?”

Woojin fidgets with the camera, “Should I continue filming? They would probably edit all this right?”

Jisung rolls his eyes, “I told her that she could be with anybody but you.”

Daniel pouts, “Why not me hyung?”

“She’s too good for you.”

Daniel reaches over to scuffle Jisung’s hair, but Jisung, used to Daniel’s attacks, steps to the side to avoid it.

So, Daniel’s hand just flings in thin air, much to Daniel’s embarrassment.

Woojin stifles a chuckle.

Jisung, during that moment when Daniel’s guard is let down, reaches over and pulls Daniel’s cheek, really hard, “Don’t worry you will find someone else.”

Daniel rubs his cheek, “What if I date her anyway?”

Jisung narrows his eyes, “I will kill you then I will kill her.”

Daniel smiles at the threat, “Too bad, she’s pretty.”

Jisung places his hands underneath his chin in a ‘flower’ position, “I am pretty too.”

Both Daniel and Woojin simultaneously show Jisung looks of disgust.

“Shut up if I was a girl you would both be chasing after me.”

“If you were a girl we both would be running off in the opposite direction,” Daniel comments, eyeing Jisung up and down.

“Just ask me the next question.”

Daniel shakes his head, “My head is too scarred by imagining you as a girl I can’t think of any.”

Woojin rolls his eyes as he points the camera back at Jisung, “I will just ask it.”

Jisung smiles cheekily at Daniel, “You imagined me as a girl? Was I pretty? Your type?”

Daniel pretends to barf all over the floor.

Woojin sighs, “You guys are so annoying.”

 


	11. 101TV Woojin & Jisung Self Cam - Age

Age to Jisung is a sensitive issue and it has become more of a sensitive issue ever since Jisung entered the show. Being surrounded by trainees who are all way younger than him (of course there were one or two exceptions) seems to cause Jisung to stress about his age more than usual.

Gently pulling on his skin, Jisung asked Daniel one day, “I have pretty good skin for someone old, right?”

Daniel raised his eyebrows in response and slowly smirked, “I don’t know hyung it seems to me that you are getting wrinkles.”

That day Daniel walked around rubbing his head, groaning in pain.

Daniel doesn’t understand Jisung’s issue with his age. Sure, Jisung _is_ quite old for a trainee but that shouldn’t hinder the other. Of all things to be insecure about, Daniel doesn’t understand why the age 27 is so bothersome to Jisung.

He remembers that right before joining the show, while waiting for their interviews with the producers, Jisung had frowned at every single trainee that walked past him.

“Hyung stop frowning,” Daniel whispered.

Jisung’s frown deepened, “I can’t help it. They are all too young.”

“What do you mean?”

“Niel ah how old do I look?” Jisung asked suddenly.

“Uhhhh.”

“That’s not a number.”

“I don’t know, maybe 25.”

Jisung huffed in annoyance and Daniel winced.

_That’s the wrong answer._

He gently slung his arm around Jisung’s shoulder, “Hyung, age is just a number. Remember, 50 is the new 20.”

Jisung gasped, “I look fifty.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“That is what you said.”

Daniel pursed his lips, maybe he should have just shut up.

Jisung covered his face with his hands, “Niel ah, I have no idea what I am going to do. All these trainees are so young and I am so old. How am I supposed to stand a chance? This is a popularity contest for heavens sake!”

“Hyung, people will love you.”

“I’m too _old_ to be an idol.”

Daniel rubbed the other’s shoulder, “They will _love_ you.”

And they do.

Of course, Daniel was right. But Jisung still holds that stigma about his age.

Daniel doesn’t understand why it bothers Jisung but he has enough common sense to not bring it up.

Park Woojin on the other hand lacks that common sense.

Pointing a camera right into Jisung’s face, that idiot asks, “What does age mean to Jisung?”

Daniel resists the urge to face palm.

Jisung looks at Daniel, slightly pouting, in a slightly whiny voice he answers, “I think 27 years old is still the peak age.”

Daniel nods encouragingly.

_If you say so hyung._

Woojin on the other hand raises his eyebrows in question.

Woojin opens his mouth to say something but Daniel curtly shakes his head.

_Don’t say anything you idiot._

“Is age important?” Jisung continues and Daniel softly pats his shoulder, leaning into the other for a half hug.

It is obvious, even to Woojin, that Jisung is upset.

“If you enter kindergarten at 27 years old,” Jisung continues to rant, “you will graduate university at 40.”

Daniel continues to pat the other’s shoulder, smiling softly at the ridiculous but true statement.

“I think positively.” Jisung finishes with a weak smile on his face.

Jisung glances back at Daniel and Daniel nods again encouragement. Jisung’s lips quivers slightly into a smile.

Woojin bites his lips nervously, “I didn’t mean it like that hyung.”

Jisung gently rests his head on Daniel’s shoulder, he has always been the perfect height for it, “I know Woojin ah.”

Daniel gently ruffles Jisung’s hair, “I will ask the next question.”


	12. 101TV Woojin & Jisung Self Cam – Parts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hey so this is the last part to the three part series of the Woojin and Jisung Self Cam. I kind of rushed to complete this cause I heard the news about Daniel and I figured us wannables would want something to cheer ourselves up. though my fic isn't the greatest thing on the earth hopefully this short chapter made your day better, at least by a bit. Hopefully Daniel feels better and gets a break from his schedules and I pray for his good health.   
> ~ get well soon Daniel ~  
> and wannables let's not forget to support him during this tough time (poor baby probably feels bad about it TT)  
> ~fighting~

_I said I will ask the question but I have no idea what to ask him._

Woojin taps his feet impatiently again, but after the disaster with his previous question, he decides not to complain. 

Daniel bites his lip in thought while staring at Jisung’s expecting expression, _what do I want to ask him?_

His brain forms a question and his mouth smirks at the thought of it, giggling at the question before he can even say it, he asks, “What is parts to Jisung hyung?”

Jisung stifles a chuckle.

_You bastard._

Daniel covers his mouth as giggles arise, and Jisung tries to compose his expression.

“To me parts in produce 101…” he trails off, unable to answer as he tries to stifle down his chuckles, while Daniel does the same with his giggles.

Woojin watches with a raised eyebrow.

“…I never sang more than two lines.” Jisung finishes off, looking back at the camera.

Daniel looks at the camera as well, taking his hand off his mouth, as Jisung turns to him and laughs.

Woojin stares at them confused, “Why is that funny? I think you should have more lines hyung.”

Daniel gently ruffles Jisung’s hair, “This guy still manages to steal the nation’s heart with just two lines.”

Jisung grins at Daniel, leave it to Daniel to take something sad and turn it into something positive.

Daniel grins back, with his forefinger touching his thumb in an ‘okay’ sign, he exclaims, “Okay.”

Jisung laughs at the expression on Daniel’s face and nods as Woojin stops recording.

“Well that took more time and energy than I thought it would,” Woojin mumbles, tightening the wrist band of the camera.

Daniel slings his arms around Jisung, “That was fun hyung,”

Jisung scoffs, “Speak for yourself, I’m the one who was bombarded with ridiculous questions and statements.”

Daniel chuckles as he ruffles the other’s hair again, “I meant it though, what I said about you and your lines. If you had gotten more lines I think you would be in 1st place.”

Jisung wrinkles his nose, “I don’t know if I want that, I like seeing you sit in that number one seat. Besides, I am afraid of heights and that seat is way too high up.” 

Daniel arches his back and laughs, this one practically a howl, and Jisung giggles at the sight of Daniel’s amusement, wishing to capture the claps of the other’s hands and the crinkles of his eyes as it turns to crescents, into a picture.

Wiping tears from his eyes as his laughter dies down, Daniel leans in towards the other’s ear and whispers, “What would I do without you Jisung hyung?”

Jisung flips his hair in exaggeration, “I know, you will be lost without me.”

Woojin who had been playing around with the camera in disinterest rolls his eyes as he overhears the statement.

“Are you two done flirting?”

Jisung smiles cheekily at the younger, “Give us two more minutes.”

Woojin rolls his eyes again, “Hurry up, we have to finish my part too.”

Jisung dramatically sighs, cheekily blowing a kiss to Daniel, who giggles in return, he walks away to the other side of the practice room, motioning Woojin to follow him.

Woojin glances at Daniel, who is still giggling, and then back to Jisung, who’s attention is now fixated on his hair.

Woojin sighs.

“I swear to god you two are so ga-”

“Hey Woojin hyung can I film for your interview?”

“Yeah sure Jinyoung, as long as I don’t need to deal with those two _together_ ever again.”


	13. Let’s Debut Together

Daniel couldn’t sleep. No matter how hard he tried to close his eyes and count sheep, his mind stayed awake.

He groans in annoyance.

_ I have to wake up at 6 tomorrow and its 3 now. Sleep, stupid brain. _

He knows it is useless to scold himself for something so unavoidable, the live filming for the last episode is tomorrow so it is no wonder that he couldn’t sleep.

His heart is thrumming so hard at the thought of the rankings. He isn’t scared for the performance, he knows he and his team practiced so hard for it, nothing could go wrong with that, they could all perform the song with their eyes closed. It is the thought of having their names announced that keeps Daniel up at night.

_ What if I don’t make it? _

_What if Jisung hyung doesn’t make it?_

Daniel’s body trembles at the thought of having to debut without Jisung. He suddenly sits up in his bed.

_ I need to tire myself out. _

In hopes to bring himself to sleep, he trudges outside, ready to jog laps around the building to make himself tired. The air feels too stuffy and everything is too quiet. His stomach grumbles in that silence and he sighs.

_ Change of plans. _

He jogs to the cafeteria, expecting no one to be at this hour, especially with the live show that day.

He yelps in surprise when he sees a lonely figure, sitting in the middle of the cafeteria.

For one scary second, Daniel thinks it’s a ghost. But with a good look at the figure he knows instantly who it is.

_ Jisung. _

He tiptoes towards the other quietly, with a smirk on his face, as soon as he nears the other he jumps in front of him and screams.

Jisung screams loudly and nearly falls off his chair.

“For god’s sake Niel ah its two in the morning can you not?”

Daniel bursts out laughing, and Jisung, though slightly irritated, giggles at the response.

Calming himself down, Daniel takes a seat next to Jisung and leans back in his chair.

“Why are you up this late?”

“Why are you?”

“Feel restless.”

“Anxious.”

Daniel gently places his hand on Jisung’s knee, “We practiced the song so many times hyung, we could practically do it in our sleep. Don’t worry.”

Jisung sighs, taking Daniel’s hand in his own, he gently interlaces their fingers, “The performance is not what I am anxious about.”

“The ranking?”

“Yeah.”

Daniel leans his head on Jisung’s shoulder, “I am worried about it too.”

“I want to debut.”

“Me too.”

“I want to debut with you.”

“Me too.”

Jisung rests his head against Daniel’s and sighs, “Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Niel ah?”

“Mhhmmm.” Daniel responds his eyes slowly closing. Resting on Jisung’s shoulder has calmed his restlessness and brought him the slumber he sought for minutes ago.

“You will be alright right? If I don’t make it and you do? You will be alright if I am not there?”

Daniel’s eye snap right open at the question. He immediately sits back up startling Jisung.

He stares Jisung, dead in the eyes, and answers, “I won’t be alright.”

Jisung sighs again, and reaches forward to tuck in a loose strand of hair behind Daniel’s ear, but Daniel dodges it.

“I mean it hyung I won’t be alright.”

“You have to be.”

Daniel huffs in annoyance, “If you don’t make it and I do, I am quitting.”

Jisung rolls his eyes, “Niel ah that’s ridiculous.”

Daniel raises his eyebrows, “I am not kidding.:”

Jisung squeezes the other’s hand, “I know.”

Daniel leans back on Jisung’s shoulder, “I don’t think I can make it without you.”

“You won’t be alone.”

“It won’t be the same.”

“You get along with everyone else pretty well.” 

“Yeah but it will feel like I am missing a leg when I am not with you.” 

“Niel ah that’s…” 

“...the truth. And you would feel the same.” 

“Of course what would I do without my child?” 

“What would I do without my mother?”

Jisung sighs, “I’m proud of you Niel ah, you worked hard.”

“You worked hard too which is why you are going to make it.” Daniel reassures the other. 

“If we both make it we would be stuck together for two more years.” Jisung comments teasingly.

Daniel sarcastically sighs, “Oh what will I do? Five years was already too much.”

Jisung chuckles as Daniel’s eyes start closing again in tiredness. 

“We should go upstairs and sleep.”

“I like this position.” Daniel mumbles back in tiredness.

“You are going to strain your neck.”

“Five minutes.” Daniel grumbles back.

Jisung chuckles at the childness in the younger’s voice. He gently rubs his thumb over the other’s hand in comfort.

“I would be lost without you too Niel ah.”

Daniel doesn’t respond, his body and mind lost to slumber.  

Jisung sighs, his own tiredness creeping unto him.

“Let’s debut together.”


	14. Final (1)

Daniel would give everything in the world to kneel, or to sit down. To do anything other stand in the same position for another minute. The suspense was literally killing the blood circulation in his legs.

Jihoon leans closer to Daniel, “Hyung this is taking forever, my legs are dying.”

Daniel chuckles at the pain in Jihoon’s voice, “We are only on the ninth place, this will take hours.”

“I could hear Jisung hyung mumble to himself from all the way here.”

“He’s what?”

Daniel turns around to see Jisung, at the back of their formation, doing just that. He catches Jisung’s eyes and raises his eyebrows. Jisung shakes his head back, mumbling more words to himself.

“Hyung you need to chill.” Daniel mouths to the elder.

Jisung nods but continues to mumble to himself anyway. Daniel finds himself catch that anxiousness as he shifts his feet back and forth.

“Don’t worry he will make it,” Jihoon whispers to him.

Daniel nods as he takes a deep breath, “Yeah I know.”

BoA starts by saying the word Pledis very slowly, the audience screams.

“Jonghyun?” Jihoon wonders.

Daniel shakes his head, “The rank is too low.” (#bitter)

For a good minute BoA doesn’t say a word and Daniel starts to teeter back and forth in place again.

“Pledis’ Hwang Minhyun.”

The screams are deafening and as if on auto pilot, Daniel’s body throws himself at Minhyun, and others do the same.

“YOU MADE IT!YOU MADE IT!” They all scream at him in joy.

Minhyun tears up and walks up to the stage to deliver his speech as everyone cheers loudly for him.

A few minutes after everyone is silent to allow Minhyun’s voice to echo through the stadium as he delivers his speech, and the crowd cheers in congrats as he ends. As soon as it quiets down again, Jisung resumes to mumble to himself again.

Jihoon leans in again, “I’m slightly worried.”

“He does that… when he’s nervous.” Daniel replies as he shoots a worried glance behind his back towards Jisung.

“You’re nervous too.”

“Of course I am.”

“It’s Jisung hyung, how can he not get into the final line up? It’s like Jonghyun not getting in. Impossible.” (#yesiamstillbitter)

“.... yeah I know… it’s just…without him I can’t...I won’t be able to...”

“...survive?”

“Yeah.”

“Gosh, can you two be any more g-”

“The eighth place trainee,” BoA’s voice rings out, interrupting Daniel’s and Jihoon’s side conversation, “Amongst the 101 trainees he’s a trainee that has a unique character.”

Daniel heart beats so loudly he could barely hears the noise from the audience.

He turns around to Jihoon again, “It’s Jisung hyung right? It has to be him.”

Most of the trainees turn towards Jisung, all of them thinking the same thing, but Jisung just shakes his head, “It can be anyone.” He retorts.

BoA doesn’t speak for what feel likes hours and Daniel is this close to collapsing on the floor with the suspense.

“His total votes are 902,098.”

Daniel rubs his hands together and a slight smile dances on his face.

_It has to be Jisung hyung, it has to be…_

A few minutes go by and Daniel is cussing Mnet in his head again.

“Mmo Yoon Jisung!” Boa’s voice finally calls out, loud and clear.

Jisung looks up in shock.

Daniel automatically runs towards him and catches him in an embrace as Jisung continues to ask him,  

“Is it me? Is it really me?”

Daniel, laughing in glee, nods.

_Yes it’s you hyung, of course its you._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the inconsistent updates, I have been struggling to find the motivation and time to write... but ill still try to write as much as I can. Since I'm trying to update as much as possible the chapters might be shorter than usual. Thank you for understanding.


	15. Tears

Daniel wasn’t much of a crier. His eyes rarely welled up with tears and in his recent years, no matter how hard things have gotten, he only allowed himself to let one tear slip at a time when needed. His trademark was his smile of course, when it gets too hard, when it seems like he can’t go on, he forces a smile and stares at the mirror. 

He tells himself the only way he can keep on smiling is if he’s on stage. So no matter how hard it was he would stare at the mirror, at his smile, and push forward. 

Survival shows are known to break people down. No matter how tough you are there would moments where one would break, that is, afterall, the purpose of a survival show. It seeks pleasure in the sadness of its contestants. Daniel, maybe because his hometown is Busan, has this manly aura around him, and he wanted to keep that aura. He told himself, no matter how hard Produce 101 got for him, he wouldn't shed a tear. At least not in front of the camera. But it's hard not to encounter one when Mnet seemed to have placed cameras in every crook and cranny of the building they were staying in. 

It was tough. Really tough. The worst wasn’t having to learn a song in a day, or having your every move critiqued by mentors, the worst was seeing the friends you made leave one by one. It hurt Daniel so much to see each trainee leave with their dreams withered. But he held it in and sent them off with his smile because people often said his smile is  infectious and he didn't want to send them off with his tears. He wanted to send them off with his smile while saying “don’t give up, you will make it.” 

Happy tears though, happy tears were a different story. Daniel rarely had his eyes fill with tears of happiness, at least not before the show, but lately he finds himself tear up in happiness. 

Not because his ranking is high. 

Not because he’s getting compliments. 

Not because after so many years he’s finally so close to debuting. 

He eyes tear up in happiness when he sees Jisung finally get the recognition he deserves.

His heart blooms in joy and pride while seeing Jisung rank higher and higher. 

He feels pride watching the trainees and mentors all compliment his longtime friend. 

He feels tears of happiness prick his eyes as he watches Jisung walk up to the stage on the day of the final ranking. 

As Jisung says his speech through his tears Daniel tries his hardest to not let the tears of happiness escape his eyes. He holds the tears in. He’s a Busan man after all.

* * *

 

Jisung cries a lot. Sometimes even he gets embarrassed thinking about the amount tears that escape his eyes. A lot of the times it's because he’s sad. A 26 year old trying to debut, even to himself it sounded ridiculous. He cried because of his stubbornness, why did he want to go down this path when over and over again it always ended with failure? But his pride, his dreams, his hopes, wiped his tears away and soon after cleaning himself up he would go back to practicing. 

I want to debut. 

I want to debut. 

I want to debut. 

I am going to debut. 

Standing on the stage, with his dreams in front of him, Jisung couldn’t stop himself from sobbing. But it was because of happiness not sadness. 

He wasn’t sure if anyone could actually understand what he was saying during the speech. Seconds after the speech he could hardly recall what he said himself. 

He takes a look around and sees Jinwoo, Taewoong, Jaehan and Daniel with tears in their eyes. All of them cheering him on. All the other trainees, all the new friends he made, also cheered him on loudly. 

Jisung was a crier but he was okay with that, because he knows that no matter how much he cries he knows he would always have a shoulder to cry on. 

  
  
  



	16. Final (2)

Jisung was too busy trying to comfort Minhyun that he barely paid attention to BoA calling Daniel and Jihoon up. It’s going to be hard for Minhyun to say goodbye to the friends he knew for five years and to not be able to see the members he was with everyday for two years. There is still the announcement for 11th place to be called but he could tell that Minhyun wasn’t putting any bets on that rank. Jisung, though as positive as he was, also had a thread of doubt.  

Jisung knows that if Daniel wasn’t called up he would be in Minhyun’s situation. Minhyun was trying to be so happy for the people that made it but his eyes were downcast and were glassy with unfallen tears. So though he was really happy for his longtime friend he found himself placing a hand on Minhyun’s while whispering words of comfort. 

Minhyun, sniffling down his tears says, “Look, Daniel’s contender for first place.” 

There wasn’t much surprise in his tone but rather awe. 

Jisung grins, “Yeah he’s going to be number 1.” 

Minhyun softly chuckles at the retort, “If you say that what does that make Jihoon?” 

“Second place.” 

Minhyun softly giggles and Jisung allows himself to feel proud for cheering the other up. But he really believed that his Kang Daniel was going to be number one. The nation’s center, Kang Daniel. It has a nice ring to it. 

Jisung turns his attention to the front and is troubled to see a nervous expression displayed on Daniel’s face. Jisung attempts to smile in comfort but it’s no use because Daniel’s back is facing him. As the announcements for the first place drags Jisung begins to lose confidence. Minhyun senses Jisung’s growing nervousness and softly nudges him. 

“Even if he is not first at least he is in the group. He would be disappointed in himself but that’s why you're there for, right?” 

Minhyun smiles softly and Jisung smiles back. Of course, King Hwang Minhyun always knows the right thing to say. Jisung holds his head up high and patiently waits for the announcement for the first place. 

Which takes an  _ annoyingly _ long time. 

“The hand picked #1 rank for Wanna One is,” BoA finally announces, “is MMO Kang Daniel.” 

Jisung literally jumped in his seat and put his fists up in the air in celebration. He joyfully laughs as he stands up for applause. 

As Daniel starts his speech Jisung feels goosebumps arise, this whole ordeal feels practically like a dream. He couldn’t help staring at his Kang Daniel with an expression similar to a mother who just found out that her son got first place in race. Watching his child tumble over his words and suppress the urge to cry brought tears to Jisung’s eyes. 

_ Daniel ah you idiot it's okay to cry ~ _

Daniel manages to finish neatly and soon the top two are climbing up the stairs to their seats. When Jihoon nears him, he notices happiness but a tint of disappointment in his eyes. He does his iconic clap to cheer the other up. His attention then immediately turns to Daniel who was walking towards him. 

After hugging Minhyun he reaches towards Jisung. 

“Good job,” Jisung whispers tearfully with pride. 

Daniel wraps his arms around the other like a little kids reaching for his mom. 

He buries his head against Jisungs neck and Jisung is sure he could feel some slight tears. He rubs Daniel’s back while repeatedly whispering. “You have done well. You have done well.”  (A/N; rewatching the episode I realized that NielSung were hugging for quite some time that the camera had to focus on something else for a few seconds XD) 

Daniel gently lets go of the embrace while whispering, “Your child is number one you better treat me to some good food.” 

Jisung laughs as Daniel walks up the stairs. 

* * *

Everything was a frenzy backstage. Between hugging the trainees, comforting Samuel, meeting his family  and crying out of happiness and sadness Jisung barely found time to even breathe let alone look for where Daniel was. He knew that the rest of the MMO trainees met with Daniel and his mother but aside from the quick hug he gave her before jetting off in excitement to see his own parents, he didn’t encounter the two of them for a good portion of the night.

After everything was settled and when people were packing up to leave, the staffs all congratulating and thanking the trainees as they left, Jisung encounters Daniel again. 

Daniel greets him with his usual puppy smile. 

“Hyung,” he says as he stretches out his arms for a hug. 

Jisung giggles as he wraps his arms around Daniel, “You have done well.” 

“You too.” 

“Yah Jisung shi, you’re so busy that you can’t even talk to me!” Daniel’s mother's voice rang out from behind them. 

Laughing Jisung let’s go of Daniel and reachers over towards the other’s mom, “Sorry, mom.” 

They find themselves sitting on the bench as their parents talk to each other. Daniel gently rests his head on Jisung’s shoulder, “I’m tired.” 

Jisung sighs, “Me too.” 

“I’m going to miss this. It was hell. But I’m going to miss it.” 

Jisung takes in a deep breath, “I know what you mean. I don’t even know if I will see any of them again.” 

“The trainees? We will see them. At a broadcasting show. All of them. Some time in the future they will all debut,  I’m sure of it.” 

Jisung tiredly eyes a staff carrying off one of the blue Produce 101 posters, it’s blue and white colour scheme practically gleaming in the hallway light. He closes his eyes and sighs again, his body and mind desperately needing some slumber. 

“I hope so.” 

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any prompts or ideas message me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/tinkerknk) or ask me on [tumblr](http://little-bother.tumblr.com/)


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